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Bulletin
Indonesia to start Green Palm Oil Certification in 2012
THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT will start regulating its palm oil
producers to check on sustainability practices from the beginning of
next year, newspaper The Jarkarta Post reported.
It will ask producers to submit applications for the country’s
mandatory scheme, which expects all palm oil plantations to be
certified by 2014.
Indonesian Palm Oil
Commission deputy
executive
director
Rosediana Suharto,
said the ministry of
agriculture would be
assessing plantations
based on cultivation
practices, as well as
social
and
The government-backed certification
environmental factors
scheme expects all palm oil plantations in
as part of preIndonesia to be certified by 2014
certification.
“There are 20 companies ready for assessment. Certification will be
very important for all Indonesian producers as buyers have
demanded all production be sustainable by 2015,” she was quoted
as saying.
The government-backed certification scheme was published at the
end of 2009 after consumer product giants suspended crude palm
oil purchases from several major Indonesian suppliers for alleged
deforestation.

Cobb to strengthen presence across Asia
COBB-VANTRESS HAS OPENED a regional sales and technical
office in Bangkok to serve the growing market for its broiler breeding
stock in Asia.
This move, which follows the appointment of Duncan Granshaw as
general manager for Asia last year, makes the new office the hub of
Cobb’s Asian activities, providing a permanent base for some sales
and technical personnel and enhancing service to customers.
Its geographical coverage will stretch from Australia and New
Zealand, to Bangladesh and Nepal, as well as China, South Korea
and Japan.
Cobb-Vantress Philippines will retain its own office supporting
parent stock customers in the country and also provide an additional
base for the international sales and technical team when working in
the country. With the increasing success in China, there may also be
a separate office there in the future, said Cobb president Jerry Moye.

Coalition urges Japan’s inclusion in TPP talks
A COALITION OF food and agricultural organizations has urged the
Obama administration to work with Japan to smoothen the way for
that country’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a
multilateral trade agreement.
Japan recently announced its intention to join the TPP negotiations,
which currently include Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
In a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the coalition
said including Japan in the trade talks would generate enormous
interest and support in U.S. agriculture.
“It would also spur even broader interest among other Asia-Pacific
countries, which could lead to the type of Asia-Pacific regional
arrangement envisioned by the administration when you embarked
on these talks last year,” said the coalition.
Japan’s economy is second only to China’s in the region, and it is the

4

fourth largest agricultural export market for the United States despite
the fact that it maintains substantial import barriers. Even with the
barriers, U.S. exports to Japan in 2010 were nearly US$12 billion.

INRA and NewVectys ink R&D partnership pact
THE FRENCH NATIONAL Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)
and the biotechnology company NewVectys signed a partnership
agreement to reinforce their scientific collaboration and develop
breakthrough innovations in animal biotechnology for research on
human health.
This partnership will promote the scientific, technological,
economical and industrial synergies between INRA and NewVectys
in animal biotechnologies and their applications in animal health and
well-being, as well as human health.
INRA and NewVectys will reinforce their cooperation by sharing their
know-how and complementary strengths to develop research
programs, specialized infrastructures and technological tools in the
benefit of animal biotechnology and its applications to serve human
health. In order to strengthen the implementation of the partnership,
NewVectys will set up an R&D team specialized in animal
biotechnologies at the INRA Center of Tours.

Alltech Vietnam receives ISO 22000:2005 certification
GLOBAL ANIMAL HEALTH and nutrition company, Alltech, recently
earned an ISO 22000:2005 certification for its plant in Dong Nai,
Vietnam. The ISO certificate is consistent with Alltech’s continued
commitment to provide excellence in quality assurance.
“Alltech is dedicated to having every facility certified to the highest
standards,” said Matthew Smith, Alltech’s Asia-Pacific director.
“Consumers demand total traceability and total transparency from
their suppliers. Alltech is leading this trend and in doing so, will
achieve our goal of exceeding our customers' expectations.”
A higher national target for livestock population growth and
increasing demand for better meat quality, presents huge
opportunities and challenges for the feed industry in the coming
years. “Operating under our strict AQS quality control system, which
exceeds global standards and regulations, we can ensure that we
are at the forefront to provide the technologies and quality assured
solutions our customers need in order to address these future
challenges,” added Steve Bourne, Alltech vice-president.

TOPIGS imports breeding pigs to China
DUTCH-BASED GENETICS SUPPLIER TOPIGS has imported 1,003
top breeding pigs to China from a nucleus farm in Canada to build
up extra breeding capacity for Chinese clients.
The great grandparent pigs
are the top of the TOPIGS
breeding pyramid and
have the highest SPF
health status, according to
the company.
The imported breeding
stock will be housed at the
facilities
of
TOPIGS
Huanshan, a joint venture
company of TOPIGS and
Huanshan Group. “This is
an important step for pig
breeding in China. With the imported breeding stock, it is possible to
provide fast growing professional pig industry with top shelf genetics,
making it possible to produce at high level,” said Jeffen Chen,
manager of TOPIGS China.

Japan expands grain import capacity
THE U.S. GRAINS Council’s 2011 Corn Mission to Japan, China and
Vietnam toured the Kushiro Port in Hokkaido, Japan, and heard
firsthand the plans to expand the port’s capacity to accommodate
larger vessels.
Kushiro is the largest port facility in the heart of Japan’s major
dairy producing area – Hokkaido, Japan.
The Director of the Kushiro Port Office for Japan’s Ministry of
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) Dr. Tetsuya
Hayakawa explained
to the group that the
port was selected in
June by MLIT as one
of the eight ports
designated
to
undergo a massive
expansion in an effort
to remain competitive
internationally. While
Japan can accept the
Japan is the leading market for US corn
capsize or the postpanamax vessels expected with the expansion of the Panama Canal,
this initiative will contribute greatly to Japan’s ability to handle larger
ships with a faster distribution process.
Mission participant Tom Mueller, from the Illinois Corn Marketing
Board, said the visit was a worthwhile and vital interaction as the
expansion of the port will help to increase Japan’s grain import
capacity at a competitive price. “Japan is our number one market for
corn. This expansion and work to accommodate the larger vessels
will help to ensure that Japan will continue to be a reliable customer.
At the same time, it will help to reduce transportation costs, and
positively attribute to Japan’s ability to remain competitive,” he said.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

5

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Agenda

Food Outlook
THE FAO FOOD Price Index in November was
virtually unchanged from its October level.
At the new level of 215 points, the Index was
23 points, or 10 per cent, below its peak in
February 2011 but remained two points, or 1 per
cent, above its level in November 2010.
The prices of cereals, one of the main
commodity groups included in the Food Price
Index, dropped by 3 points or 1 per cent from
October. The retreat was largely driven by wheat
prices, which dropped 3 per cent, while rice
quotations fell only slightly and coarse grain
prices
remained
virtually
unchanged.
Nevertheless, the cereals index remained 6 points
higher than in November 2010.
Contributing to the downward pressure on
cereal prices is the significant upward revision of
the 2011/2012 global cereal supply estimate as a
result of better crop prospects in some Asian
countries and the Russian Federation, and larger
than anticipated stocks in the latter. Other factors
include deteriorating world economic prospects
and a strong U.S. Dollar.
These are among the highlights of the latest
issue of FAO's quarterly Crop Prospects and Food
Situation report published today. The report
confirmed a record level of world cereal
production of 2,323 million tonnes for 2011.

Although marginally lower than October's
estimate, this represents a 3.5 per cent increase
on 2010 production.
At this level, the 2011 cereal crop should be
sufficient to cover the expected increase in
utilization in 2011/12 and also allow for a
moderate replenishment of world reserves, the
report said.
Among cereals, global wheat output is
expected to increase by 6.5 per cent, while the
forecasts for coarse grains and rice were reduced
slightly due to a downward adjustment for maize in
the United States and a deterioration of rice
prospects in Indonesia.
Total cereal utilization in 2011/2012 was
forecast at 2,310 million tonnes, 1.8 per cent
higher than in 2010/2011. An important feature is
a sharp, 8 per cent rise in the use of wheat for
animal feed given its competitive price compared
to coarse grains and maize in particular.
The forecast for world cereal ending stocks by
the close of seasons in 2012 has been raised by
almost five million tonnes since last month, to 511
million tonnes, the report said. At this level world
cereal stocks would be 10 million tonnes higher
than last year and the world cereal stocks-to-use
ratio would increase slightly to 22 per cent.
Crop Prospects and Food Situation — which

focuses on developments affecting the food
situation of developing countries and in particular
Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) —
noted that given their likely increased import
requirements, the aggregate cereal import bill of
LIFDCs for the 2011/2012 marketing season would
reach a record level of US$33 billion — up 3.4 per
cent from 2010/2011.
Reviewing the world's food security hotspots,
the report said that despite some improvements in
the situation in Somalia due to substantial
humanitarian assistance and favourable rains food
insecurity is expected to remain critical in droughtaffected areas until the harvest of short-season
crops in early 2012.

FAO steps up support to South-South Cooperation
IN A GROWING trend towards cooperation among
countries of the global South, developing countries
are putting more financial and technical muscle
behind initiatives to help each other improve food
security, as evidenced by new agreements fostered
by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
among some of its member countries.

Under the agreement with Liberia, China will
contribute more than US$ 1 million, and technical assistance through 24 Chinese experts

FAO recently co-signed two new tripartite
agreements between the People’s Republic of
China and the Republics of Liberia and Senegal,
respectively, to support implementation of a series

6

of food security initiatives and projects in Liberia
and Senegal.
The agreements were signed in the context of
the Strategic Alliance between FAO and China on
South-South Cooperation (SSC) in support of
programmes for food and nutrition security in
selected countries. The funding provided through
the new agreement comes from a US$ 30 million
FAO-China Trust Fund.
Under the agreement with Liberia, China will
contribute more than US$ 1 million, and technical
assistance through 24 Chinese experts and
technicians, to support implementation of the
National Programme for Food Security over a twoyear-period. In Senegal, China will provide
assistance through 26 experts and technicians.
“At a time when continued economic
uncertainties are having an impact on the flow of
traditional, North-South development assistance,
South-South Cooperation is creating and building
on partnerships that support the direct exchange
of financial and technical contributions between
developing countries,” said Laurent Thomas, FAO
Assistant
Director-General,
Technical
Cooperation Department.
“FAO's South-South Cooperation (SSC) initiative
was launched in 1996 to provide technical support

to country-level action on food insecurity. Since
then, FAO's experience with South-South
Cooperation has shown that the knowledge and
skills of technical experts and field technicians from
the South have made an invaluable contribution to
efforts to modernize small-scale agriculture
throughout the developing world,” Thomas added.
A total of 47 tripartite agreements have been
signed to provide technical assistance among
developing countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin
America and the Caribbean, and over 1 500 experts
and technicians have been fielded in the framework
of various food security initiatives.
In addition to the Strategic Alliance with China,
letters of intent for SSC Strategic Alliance have also
been signed so far with Argentina and Indonesia,
and are under discussion with Morocco.
In one such SSC project, Vietnamese experts are
helping to implement irrigation activities in Chad to
support rice cultivation and horticulture, and to
increase cereal production, artisanal fishing, beekeeping and food processing. Under a tripartite
agreement signed with FAO in 2010, ten
Vietnamese experts are helping Chad to implement
the activities under the country's five-year, US$ 200
million National Programme for Food Security
(which FAO helped to design).

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Agenda

Green: The new colour of rice
RICE CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE can now look forward to eating “green” rice with
rice farmers to adopt these practices. It will also identify criteria to assess how
the launch of an initiative that will set environmentally sustainable and socially
well the sustainability targets are being met and whether farmers are
responsible rice production management standards.
implementing the practices.
The “Sustainable Rice Platform”
“For example, we will harness our
initiative, launched at IRRI headquarters in
know-how to set standards to better
the Philippines recently, will elevate rice
manage insect pests in rice to reduce the
production to a new level by helping
unsafe and ineffective use of pesticides,
farmers–whether subsistence or marketwhich can damage the environment and
focused–boost their rice production, keep
the health of farmers,” said Dr. Bas Bouman,
the environment healthy, facilitate safer
who will lead the work at the International
working conditions, and generate higher
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – one of the
incomes to overcome poverty and
project partners.
Everyone who eats rice or is engaged in rice production can
improve food security.
“We can also develop and promote the
benefit from the "green" rice anticipated with the Sustainable
“There are many different sustainable
use of specialized field calculators to
Rice Platform initiative
technologies and practices for rice – the
determine the environmental footprint of
world’s most important food crop that feeds half the planet,” said Mr. James
water, carbon, greenhouse gas emissions, or chemical use,” he added.
Lomax, from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that initiated
Rice presents a unique challenge for any quality control system because it is
the Sustainable Rice Platform.
mostly grown by hundreds of thousands of poor farmers who have only very small
“The trouble is, we need a way to deliver and upscale these practices,” he
farms of less than 1 hectare each. Moreover, 90 per cent of rice is grown in
added. “The Sustainable Rice Platform is an exciting opportunity to promote
developing countries in Asia, where access to knowledge and support is limited.
resource-use efficiency and sustainable trade flows in the whole of value chain of
“Our formula for success lies in our track record of working with rice farmers
the global rice sector.”
and others in rice research and development across the private and public
The Sustainable Rice Platform will learn from established commodity
sector at the international, national, and local level in major rice-producing
initiatives that promote sustainability such as for sugarcane, cotton, and coffee,
countries,” Dr. Bouman said. “To create an impact in rice, we need to move
and apply them to rice. It will set sustainability targets, develop and promote
forward in two directions: public policy development and voluntary market
regional and global standards of best practices for rice production, and support
transformation initiatives.”

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

7

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Agenda

Farming crucial for threatened species in developing world
A NUMBER OF threatened species in the
developing world are entirely dependent on
human agriculture for their survival, according
to new research by the University of East
Anglia (UEA).
Published recently in the journal Conservation
Letters, the study concludes that many
species, rather than just using farmland to
supplement their natural habitat, would
actually be driven to extinction without it.
Species such as the White-shouldered Ibis in
Cambodia, the Sociable Lapwing in
Kazakhstan and the Liben Lark in Ethiopia rely
on local people and their agriculture.
Greatest benefit comes from local
communities practising traditional agriculture
with low ecological impact. Valuable practices
include grazing animals on land where rare
species breed and feed, and growing cereal
crops which provide a rich source of food.
“Conservation efforts in the developing world
focus a lot of attention on forest species and
pristine habitats – so people have usually been
seen as a problem. But there are a number of
threatened species – particularly birds but
probably a whole range of wildlife – which
heavily depend on the farmed environment,”
said lead author Hugh Wright of UEA’s School

of Environmental Sciences.
“Many of the traditional farming systems that
benefit these species are now under threat
both from industrial, large-scale agriculture
and from more local economic development.
We need to identify valuable farmland
landscapes and support local people so that
they can continue their traditional farming
methods and help maintain this unique
biodiversity.”

Conserving biodiversity by supporting or
mimicking traditional farming methods has
long been a feature in Europe, but it has rarely
been applied in developing countries. The
UEA researchers found at least 30 threatened

New ISO standard on traceability
of fish products
THE USE OF a new ISO standard on the traceability of finfish products will help
improve food safety by supplying stakeholders throughout the supply chain
with accurate information about the origin and nature of these products.
Finfish constitute an important part of the modern food industry. People
consume more and more products coming from the four corners of the globe
and fish, in particular, may be caught thousands of kilometers from their place
of consumption.
During the past decade, several food crises have seriously affected many
countries. Following the outbreak, the concept of traceability of food products
has become a matter of special interest to policy makers and scientists.
ISO 12875:2011, Traceability of finfish products – Specification on the
information to be recorded in captured finfish distribution chains, specifies the
information to be recorded in marine-captured finfish supply chains in order to
establish traceability.
It specifies how traded fishery products are to be identified, and the
information to be generated and held on those products by each of the food
businesses that physically trade them through the distribution chains. The
standard deals with the distribution for human consumption of marine-captured
finfish and their products, from catch through to retailers or caterers.
The ISO definition of traceability concerns the ability to trace the history,
application and location of that which is under consideration, and for products
this can include the origin of materials and parts, the processing history and the
distribution and location of the product after delivery. Traceability includes not
only the principal requirement to be able to physically trace products through
the distribution chain, from origin to destination, but also to be able to provide
information on what they are made of and what has happened to them.

8

or near threatened species relying on farmland
in the developing world, but further research is
likely to find many more.
Where local communities are threatened by
industrial agriculture, which often results in
people being thrown off their traditional lands,
conservation may be able to provide a win-win
solution, helping to safeguard farming
livelihoods for local people and for wildlife. In
other cases, local communities could receive
economic or development benefits in return
for continuing valuable farming practices that
benefit wildlife. Conservation must not prevent
development so any lost livelihood
opportunities
must
be
adequately
compensated for.
“We have seen some of the poorest villagers
denied access to their traditional grassland
grazing and fishing lands, once these have
been allocated to large businesses for
intensive rice production,” said co-author Dr
Paul Dolman.
“Although this helps produce food for export
and helps the national economy, local people
can suffer along with threatened birds which
once nested in these grasslands. By
identifying this link between people and
threatened wildlife, we hope to help both.”

Revised guide to good dairy
farming practice launched
IN COLLABORATION WITH the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), IDF has produced a revised Guide to
Good Dairy Farming Practice.
The Guide advises dairy farmers on how to develop sustainable
management systems. This has become a top priority as the social
and environmental aspects of milk production are increasingly in the
focus of consumers and producers.
Commenting on the Guide, Helen Dornom, Chair of the IDF/FAO
Project Group said: “This Guide has been written in a practical
format for dairy farmers engaged in the production of milk from any
dairy species all over the world. It covers key aspects such as animal
health, milk hygiene, nutrition, welfare, the environment and socioeconomic management. These are essential tools to ensure that
both the needs of the food industry and the expectations of
consumers are met.”
The revised FAO/IDF reference document comprises a
comprehensive tool kit to improve quality assurance at farm level,
thereby enabling dairy farmers to better respond to market
incentives, to add value and to adopt new farming methods.
IDF President Richard Doyle adds that: “It has always been a top
priority for IDF to identify and disseminate best practice at
international level, in order to guide and harmonize work on the many
challenges and opportunities facing the dairy sector. This tangible
result of our joint work with the FAO will support the production and
marketing of safe, quality-assured milk and dairy products. I
encourage every dairy farmer to adopt and use the Guide.”

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Events

Gearing up for the one-stop
feed and grain expo
Preparations for FIAAP, VICTAM & GRAPAS Asia 2012 are in full swing despite the flooding that
has hit parts of Thailand and Bangkok.
HE SITUATION NOW seems to be
improving with flood levels going down
throughout Thailand and its capital
Bangkok. However, BITEC, the exhibition
venue for the shows and conferences, has
not been threatened by flooding, nor has
Bangkok’s International Suvarnabhumi
Airport. Downtown Bangkok, where the
majority of the city’s hotels are situated, has
also remained flood free. In fact, all the
facilities necessary for a successful show
have not been affected and are fully
operational.
Over the coming weeks, the city will dry
out and return to its vibrant, welcoming and

fun loving self, for which it is famed. With
life returning to normal and with still almost
two months before FIAAP, VICTAM &
GRAPAS Asia 2012 events open, the
organizers Victam International expect the
event to draw senior trade executives from
throughout the animal feed and grain
processing industries of South and South
East Asia.
The exhibition will be 25 per cent larger
than the previous edition in 2010 and is the
biggest event by Victam International in Asia
yet, according to the organizers.
“There are more exhibitors, larger
exhibition stands, more new product

Further information
For additional information and free visitor registration visit:
www.fiaap.com or www.victam.com

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

No
new hw in
ome
B

ITEC

9

S03 FEAG 6 2011 Events_Layout 1 19/12/2011 11:51 Page 10

Events

launches, more technical conferences.
Visitors will find the latest feed ingredients
and additives for animals, pets and aqua
within the FIAAP exhibitors. If you are
looking at animal feed processing technology
then Victam is the show for you. The latest
machinery and systems from all over the
world will be on display. You will be able to
touch those gleaming machines and get
expert advice from the world’s leading
manufacturers and suppliers,” a Victam
International official said.
The Victam show will also include many
exhibitors that will be displaying the latest
technology for biomass pelleting. These
organic pellets are used as an alternative
source for green energy.
There will also be many exhibitors
displaying “ancillary equipment”, for
instance silos, conveyors, un/loaders,
bagging, buckets, programs, etc. The
“ancillary equipment” will also be
applicable to the final exhibition – GRAPAS.
This show is all about grain and rice milling
and processing, its storage, sorting,
preservation, transportation and final
processing. For visitors from the rice and
flour milling sectors, breakfast cereal,
noodle and extruded snack producers, this
show will be a must.
The senior trade executives visiting the
event will find a large selection of exhibitors
from all over the world that will be displaying

The 2012 exhibition will be 25 per cent larger than the previous edition in 2010

ingredients and technology, some being
shown in Asia for the first time, that are used
in the production of animal feeds and the
processing of rice and grains. Companies
that supply ingredients and technology to
these expanding industries are increasingly
seeing the markets increase in importance to
them. Companies are now investing more
within this market and have realized the
importance of this event and so it will be of
no surprise then that visitors to the trade
shows will see larger exhibition stands

displaying the latest innovations within these
industry sectors.
A series of conferences at the event
including The FIAAP Asia Conference 2012,
Petfood Forum Asia 2012, The GRAPAS Asia
Conference 2012, Biomass – Pellets Update
Asia, Aquafeed Horizons Asia 2012, The
Thai Feed Conference, GMP+ seminar Feed
safety and sustainability in the global market,
et al will also be held. The shows and their
conferences will open at BITEC, Bangkok on
15 – 17 February 2012. n

Global food challenges and solutions discussed at COP10
WORLD FOOD DAY was marked globally and
many of the global food challenges and
solutions, such as ensuring future food
security, were key topics of discussions at the
tenth session of the Conference of the Parties
(COP10) to the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
This year’s theme for World Food Day focused
on high global food prices, price volatility and
efforts to remove price swings to create
stability. According to the World Bank, in
2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70
million people into extreme poverty.
“World Food Day is a powerful reminder of the
vast inequalities in the availability of food for
the world’s population,” UNCCD Executive
Secretary Luc Gnacadja said. “High and
volatile food prices are likely to be with us for
some time to come.”
Rising food prices and volatility have been
attributed to demand outpacing food
production, while food stocks are at historic
lows. Other factors include market
speculation, trade policies, biofuels, export
restrictions and climate shocks, such as

10

drought. Still, Gnacadja said, a key element
that was too often overlooked was land
degradation, particularly in drylands areas.
Gnacadja said that the majority of the 925
million people who suffered from endemic
hunger in 2010 were small holder farmers
and landless poor living in rural areas.
Most live in areas with low land
productivity. The law of marginality where
marginal soils are cultivated with marginal
inputs leading to marginal yields that
support marginal standards of living,
Gnacadja said, must be addressed.
“If we want food security to prevail, we must
not only address the volatility of food prices in
the global markets, but we must also alleviate
the stress on the food production system of
the planet,” Gnacadja said at a session
discussing the UNCCD’s food policy
framework, earlier in the week, noting that up
to half of what most people eat daily comes
from drylands.
Over the next 25 years land degradation could
reduce global food production by as much as
12 per cent leading to a 30 per cent increase

in world food prices. More than 12 million
hectares of productive land are lost due to
desertification every year. While productive
land becomes scarcer, providing food for the
9 billion people predicted to live on Earth in
2050 will require a 70 per cent increase in
global food production. With the need
growing for a diminishing natural resource,
food prices must be stabilised and known
solutions to reverse land degradation need to
be scaled up globally.
UNCCD has collected more than 200
examples of best practices from around the
world, which it has shared with country parties
to the conference through a web portal. A
variety of examples from Africa were
described as solutions which could be
replicated in other countries during a side
event at the conference.
“To ensure the scaling up of best practices,
including policy making at the national level,
we will need to make sure that we mainstream
all that we know that works,” Gnacadja said at
a session on food security held in the COP10
Rio Conventions Pavillion.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Events

Agritechnica reflects growing
strength of equipment industry
GRITECHNICA 2011 RECORDED the highest number of trade and
agriculture professional visitors the show has seen. With exhibitors
achieving higher results than in the previous editions, the expo
showed that the industry is on the rise for the future.
“Agritechnica 2011 has impressively demonstrated the global
importance of agriculture and agricultural machinery and equipment.
With over 2,700 exhibitors and some 4,15,000 visitors, of whom
100,000 came from outside Germany, a new dimension has been
achieved,” said Dr. Reinhard Grandke, Chief Executive Officer of the
exhibition organizer DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft –
German Agricultural Society).
He added that this result confirmed Agritechnica’s leading role as
global forum for the agricultural machinery and equipment industry.
Agritechnica was more international than ever. The international
contingent grew from 47 per cent in 2009 to 50 per cent. With around
18,000 decision-makers and investors coming from the large farms in
Central and Eastern Europe, Agritechnica exerted its expected magnetic
draw. These numbers represent an increase of 25 per cent by comparison
with the figures for 2009. The character of the world’s largest exhibition
was impressively affirmed by the rise in visitor numbers from North and
South America (6,100 visitors). Visitor numbers from emerging countries
such as India, China and Pakistan (2,000) also rose dramatically.
Larger, faster, wider – these attributes continue to describe many
developments in agricultural machinery and equipment, but their
significance is increasingly and universally being upstaged by a constant
influx of new developments in electronics and sensor technology. Today
these factors largely determine the degree of innovation of machinery and
systems with the goal of making processes even more efficient, precise,
environmentally compatible and thrifty. This was strongly in evidence at
Agritechnica 2011 and especially in the Special “Smart Farming Intelligent and sustainable plant production”. The information offered there
on the latest developments in sensor technology, navigation and data
management attracted exceptionally high interest among farmers.
Special measures were taken at Agritechnica to counter the foreseeable
shortage of skilled workers in the field of agricultural machinery and
equipment among manufacturers and in the service sector. In the Special

A

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

Harvesting equipment on display at Agritechnica 2011

“Workshop Live”, specialists ranging from apprentices to master craftsmen
demonstrated their skills and potential on high-tech machines with typical
maintenance and service work. Manufacturers also informed interested
visitors about attractive career prospects for machine builders, electrotechnicians and computer specialists.
More than 10,000 young farmers and students from home and abroad
attended the various events at Agritechnica. Particular mention should be
made of the panel discussion at which 400 young business people from
many parts of Europe discussed farm management and business
management issues. One of the highlights of Agritechnica 2011 was once
again the “Young Farmer’s Party”, held in the TUI-Arena for the first time
this year and attended by over 3,000 young people.
Manufacturers of agricultural machinery and equipment were highly
satisfied with the course of the industry’s mega exhibition.
“As one of the three largest industrial trade fairs in the world,
Agritechnica now plays in a league of its own – a status attributable
primarily to the great innovative force and international market presence of
the European agricultural machinery and equipment industry,” said VDMA
Managing Director Dr. Bernd Scherer. n

11

S03 FEAG 6 2011 Events_Layout 1 19/12/2011 11:51 Page 12

Events

Renowned researchers join speaker
programme at World Potato Congress

Good response to
AgriPro Asia 2011

TOP POTATO RESEARCHERS from Britain
and The Netherlands have joined the speaker
panel at the World Potato Congress (WPC
2012) due to take place in Edinburgh,
Scotland, from May 27-30, 2012.
Exploiting the potato genome and how newfound knowledge will ultimately impact
production, nutritional qualities and consumer
needs will be the focus for Dr Glenn Bryan of
The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, Scotland.
Cutting the potato’s production carbon
footprint down to size, as part of the industry’s
sustainability agenda, will see Prof Anton
Haverkort of Plant Research International,
Wageningen University and Research Centre,
Holland suggest actions for growers.
Lead speaker on the first day, Prof Sir
John Beddington, UK government chief
scientific adviser, will examine the global
challenges of food security in the coming
decades and how policymakers can influence
more sustainable intensification of agriculture
with crops like the potato. He will discuss the
recommendations of the UK Government
Office for Science Global Food and Farming
Futures report and how, one year on, this has
been taken forward globally.
Dr Bryan, who led the UK arm of the
research team that sequenced the genome of

AGRIPRO ASIA EXPO (APA)—
one of the leading global
agricultural trade events held in
Hong Kong recently— drew good
response.
APA served as a springboard for
international products to enter
Greater China and Asia Pacific
Region.
Concurrent event, Agricultural
Conference Asia (ACA) offered a
sharing and learning platform for
the
agricultural
industry.
Speakers
from
various
agricultural institutes, production
units, distribution channels,
government officials and trade
bodies shared their views on
latest
agricultural
trends,
including market intelligence,
technology,
environmentallyfriendly agriculture, investment
opportunities, specific countries
trade rules and regulations.
Spread across an area of 5,000
sqm, and with exhibitors from
nearly 20 countries, the event
was successful in attracting large
number of visitors.

the potato, will explain how putting more
science into the sector will make breeding
programmes more effective.
“The use of genetics-based selection
methods is very promising and technology to
exploit the genome sequence is already
underway,” he explains. “I can see that
collaborative working involving scientists and
breeders in different countries will lead to the
introduction of baseline traits, such as
nematode resistance, that will benefit all
varieties. Individual breeders will then carry out
work to introduce traits of particular relevance
to their own geographic region.”
According to Prof Haverkort, the scientific
community attending World Potato Congress
will exchange important knowledge with peers
and the commercial sector. “A significant issue
will be to ensure we move forward together
towards establishing a sustainable industry
that makes best use of energy, land, water and
chemicals as our goal. We’ve worked
worldwide to define and quantify the carbon
footprint and now we need to develop
measures in the potato industry to ensure
constraints on production can be avoided.”
Online registration for delegates and
partners to attend WPC 2012 is available at
www.wpc2012.net.

Importance of saturated fatty
acids’ functionalities stressed
EACH SATURATED FATTY acid (SFA) has specific functionalities
and should be evaluated as such, said nutrition expert Professor
Philippe Legrand.
Prof. Legrand spoke at the 11th European Nutrition Conference
in Madrid, Spain, after his presentation at the IDF World Dairy
Summit in Parma, Italy. His current research focuses on specific
traits of saturated fatty acids (SFA), showing that even long chain
SFA such as lauric acid (C12:0), myristic acid (C14:0), and palmitic
acid (C16:0) have important functions in our body.
“The real issue is the issue of intake. We need a better
understanding of the effects of a moderate consumption of C12:0,
C14:0 and C16:0. The available controlled trials too often have only
evaluated extreme intakes of these fatty acids, and thus do not
reflect normal dietary intake,” Pr. Legrand explained
“We need more studies with moderate intake levels to evaluate
when and how C12, C14 and C16 fatty acids can be deleterious,”
he said.
“A detailed analysis of specific functionalities of each SFA is
crucial and SFAs can’t be studied as one indivisible group. This
was underlined in the recent guidelines published by the French
Food Safety Agency (ANSES), a very positive step forward,” he
added. This research will ultimately help consumers to identify
dairy foods as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

12

2nd RubberPlant Summit to be
held in Indonesia
THE 2ND RUBBERPLANT Summit will be held on 06-07 February, 2012 in Bali,
Indonesia. The Summit explores in-depth key developments and challenges
facing the natural rubber plantations and producing countries.
The Indonesian government has put rubber
on the fast track by focusing on improved
planting policies to achieve greater yield and
productivity. As the second largest producer of
natural rubber, Indonesia plays a pivotal role in
meeting global demand and has the pressing
need to engage in new strategies to optimize
production.
Natural rubber continues to boom with a
strong stable growth. Driven by the tire sector
and key markets like China, India and Malaysia
which account for 48 per cent of global usage,
countries are stepping up measures to increase
production through replanting and rehabilitating old plantations. New
plantations are cultivated in the traditional rubber growing belt alongside
emerging rubber producing countries like Cambodia and Philippines.
Amid the tremendous potential and expanding acreage of natural
rubber cultivation, plantation companies are continuously striving to
increase yield and productivity. The search for high quality clones and in
some instances processing technology and manpower issues are crucial
challenges to overcome.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Livestock

Photograph: Big Dutchman

Housing tips for
poultry production
in the tropics

Achieving the ideal environment for birds depends on
appropriate management of the poultry house
OULTRY PHYSIOLOGY IS at the root of
birds’ inability to cope with high
temperature conditions especially with
accompanying high humidity, but producers
can design and manipulate housing to
minimise heat stress and resulting loss of
production.
The internal body temperature of
domesticated gallinaceous birds (chickens) at
41.2°C to 42.2°C is measurably higher than
that of mammalian livestock and humans
(36°C to 39°C). The upper temperature limit
beyond which living cells and tissues
progressively fail to operate is governed by the
temperature at which enzymes (enzymic
proteins) are denatured (destroyed) by loss of
configuration (shape) and chemical activity.
This starts to occur in the region of 46°C
and thus poultry have considerably less leeway
than other animals when suffering from heat
stress and quickly succumb to higher
temperature. In comparison, actual body
temperature of poultry may fall as much as
20°C below the normal range with birds still
making full recovery if carefully re-warmed.

P

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

Domestic poultry is clearly less tolerant of heat
than cold and much more likely to die from
heat stress (hyperthermia) than succumb to
stress associated with low temperature
(hypothermia).
Poultry are not well adapted and disposed
to high ambient air temperatures. They lack
sweat glands in the skin and are therefore
unable to gain much from natural evaporative
cooling, although there is some direct diffusion
of water through the skin tissue. Only the head
appendages (e.g. comb) are very rich in blood
vessels and able to act as sites for direct loss
of heat, so poultry appears to have few limited
options for heat loss in warm conditions.

Heat loss
Chickens dip their faces in water and allow
drips to fall from the facial appendages thus
encouraging some loss of heat when the water
evaporates from the surface of the body.
Furthermore, blood vessels in the facial
appendages and the legs vasodilate (come
closer to the surface of the skin) to promote
so-called ‘sensible’ heat loss (conduction,

convection and radiation) from the body in
addition to ‘insensible’ heat loss by
evaporation. A distinction is made because
‘sensible’ heat loss contributes to warming up
of the poultry environment, whereas
evaporating water molecules actually take heat
out of the environment by absorbing ‘Latent
Heat of Evaporation’.
That said, most heat loss achieved by hens
is through the respiratory system and more
specifically the lungs. Avian lungs are small in
relation to total body size but have big nonvascular air sacs which play no role in gaseous
exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Instead, they present large areas of wet surface
for loss of water by evaporation and therefore
evaporative cooling. Birds lose this heat
through an activity called ‘panting’ which starts
to occur when body temperature reaches 43°C.
The negative effects of high humidity come
into play and pose additional related problems
which are specifically dangerous to poultry. Air
saturated (up to capacity) with water vapour
prevents further water loss from birds through
evaporation. The role of relative humidity is
closely associated with temperature. At 20°C,
relative humidity can be raised up to 90 per
cent with seemingly little effect on either food
conversion efficiency or growth rate. At 29°C,

13

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Livestock

raising the humidity to around 70 per cent has
a discernible inhibitory effect on the rate of
growth of broiler chickens.
Birds continually generate heat through
body metabolism but during high ambient air
temperatures of 35°C to 40°C, which is not
much below normal internal temperature, they
are unable to discharge all by evaporation.
Body temperature, therefore, starts to rise
causing even more heat to be produced and if
unchecked results in acute heat stress and
death from hyperthermia.
The feeding process including moving
around to find food, ingestion, digestion and
assimilation generates heat so the bird’s
metabolism reacts logically by reducing food
intake. Water intake may double initially but
slips back to normal levels. There are well
documented negative effects of heat stress on
layers including reduced egg production, lower
egg weight and shell weight and for broilers
increased total carcass and abdominal fats.

Environmental conditions
Overall effect of the tropical environmental is
usually greatest for high yielding hybrid hens
which have been bred for temperate climate
production, where the consequences of low
temperature-induced cold stress are more
important than thermal stress brought about by
high temperature and high humidity in
tandem.
Hybrid birds are invariably raised in large
and appropriately designed houses and there is

every temptation to copy and adopt such
designs for the tropics. But they may be
technically inappropriate for prevailing
environmental conditions as well as the
economics of production. Such designs are
unable to keep out sufficient heat by insulation
or create the necessary degree of air movement
and flow to achieve optimum in house climate
for maximum productivity.
Poultry house design should be directly
related to environmental conditions and
tropical Asian producers should go for housing
which suits their climate. Two distinct climatic
areas in tropical Asia need to be catered for.
First are those areas lying 15° either side of the
Equator and experiencing temperature ranges
of 25°C to 35°C with exceptionally high
humidity and accompanying small air
movements.
Second is the classic hot arid area
experiencing a much wider range of
temperature from 10°C to 49°C with distinct
and marked diurnal (day/night) and seasonal
(summer/winter) variations not seen in the
humid Equatorial regions. Such regions which
typically occupy the outer tropical zone (1530° North and South of the Equator) receive
high intensities of solar radiation but
considerably more frequent and higher velocity
air movements (winds).

House location and vegetation
First consideration is where to locate the
poultry house. As a general rule, house sites

should take full advantage of local topography
(lie of the land) so that maximum use is made
of prevailing air currents and shading from
high land masses. Consult local records of
wind velocity and direction and orientate
houses to benefit from prevailing air
movements. Always locate the house well
away from concentrated blocks of tall
plantation tree crops like rubber and other
buildings so there is no interference with
natural air flow onto and through the poultry
house.
Tall trees with bare trunks and foliage in
crowns and sited sparingly near the house can
provide good shading benefits without
interfering with the flow of air. But small bushy
trees and shrubs like citrus and mango have
an overall negative effect because they are not
tall enough to provide shade but will still
interrupt air flows. Appropriately sited trees and
other vegetation may complement cooling of
the house through transpiration of water from
the leaves taking heat (Latent Heat of
Vapourisation) from the immediate
environment for evaporation. Indeed air
movements across transpiring crops in hot
climates can reduce ambient air temperature
by up to 3°C.
In hot dry areas, poultry house location
near crops including pasture under irrigation
can bring considerable rewards. Grassland
and other low profile cover crops like alfalfa,
groundnuts, cowpeas (Vigna) or cucurbits
such as cucumber, pumpkin or musk melon

Poultry house design should be directly
related to environmental conditions and
tropical Asian producers should go for
housing which suits their climate

14

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Livestock

absorb solar radiation from the environment.
Bare ground and soil will reflect considerable
amounts of solar radiation onto the poultry
house.
It is not a good idea to locate poultry
houses near dense natural vegetation or crops
like sugar cane and cocoa all of which may
harbour rodent predators like brown rats. Ducks
always reserve an area outside of the house
occupying an equivalent to half the house area
for a pond of shallow water which need to be
no more than 30 cm deep. With this supplied,
ducks can often withstand high ambient
temperatures that would otherwise cause high
mortality in chickens and turkeys. Clearly there
are no hard and fast rules but it’s more of a
‘mix and match’ question.

Building design
Roof design and construction in the tropics
must ensure total interception of solar radiation
to prevent direct heat transference onto birds in
the poultry house. Shade is crucial and can
halve the heat load on hens. Heat load is
minimised when hens are surrounded by cool
surfaces. Insulation of galvanised iron roofs is
essential because it reduces transference of
long-wave radiation down onto the birds.

Obvious choice for cost effectiveness is grass or
other dried thatch but care must be exercised
because it may harbour vermin and parasites.
Colour and nature of roof surface will have
considerable impact on the amount of solar
radiation absorbed with white and smooth
shiny surfaces staying cooler than equivalent
dark coloured and rough surfaces. Painting the
roof white is clearly a good idea not only
because of the colour but also as an anticorrosion measure to stop development of a
rough surface coating of rust.
Regular movement of air within the house
takes away heat, water vapour and pollutant
chemicals including ammonia from the faeces
and if the birds are in battery cages continual
air flow is crucial to stop those in the higher
situated cages getting to hot. Depending on
actual climate it may be necessary to have one
permanent solid wall to shield birds from strong
wind and driving rain that can occur at any
time of the year, but for others a temporary
erection facility may be all that is needed to
protect birds during three months of an annual
cooler rainy season.
Poultry houses for relatively small number of
birds in the hot dry tropics, having big
day/night fluctuations in temperature, benefit

Acetic acid supplementation reduces the
effects of heat stress in poultry
SUPPLEMENTING LAYER FEED with acetic acid may provide an
effective, cost-efficient method of achieving significant reductions in
the negative effects of heat-stress, resulting in major improvements in
egg production and quality, according to Anitox, a company that
offers pathogen elimination and mould control products for the feed
milling and primary meat, egg and fish production industries.
“High environmental temperatures can have a significant detrimental
impact on laying hen performance, reducing feed intake, egg
production and quality, as well as increasing mortality. Alleviating the
effects of high environmental temperatures can therefore significantly
improve flock performance and profitability,” said Alan Doyle, the
company’s Business Development Manager.
Independent research has demonstrated that the administration of
acetic acid can have a very positive effect on the performance of
laying hens during periods of heat stress. Conducted with commercial
laying hens reared during a period when the average environmental
temperature was 35°C, it demonstrated that acetic acid
supplementation at a rate of 400-600ppm significantly increased egg
production and quality, resulting in increased egg numbers, weight,
diameter and length, together with improved shell and egg quality.
“Increasing acetic acid intake is often achieved by supplementing
drinking water, but in some cases a more practical option is through
the use of Maxi-Mil A during the feed manufacturing process. The
unique Anitox Maxi-Mil Programme was primarily developed by
Anitox to increase feed mill efficiency and it is widely used in countries
with inherently warm climates to reduce process losses. Mills using
Maxi-Mil A could also add it to layer mash at an inclusion rate of 1kg
per tonne to produce feed containing the equivalent of adding
440ppm of acetic acid to drinking water.”

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

from walls with high heat capacity and low
heat conductivity. This means they absorb heat
in the day and release it at night thus
equalising house temperature over the twenty
four hour cycle. This is not advisable for poultry
units housing large numbers of birds as there
will be insufficient air flow to prevent high
accumulations of ammonia which impede
respiration and feed intake.
Large units were traditionally built as opensided structures to encourage maximum natural
air movement which after all is both cheap and
totally reliable. More enclosed houses are now
springing up which clearly require at least
some environmental control whether it be from
ventilation systems providing continuous air
flow, high pressure misting systems or
fogging/cool pad/ tunnel ventilation systems
which rely on a combination of evaporative
cooling and air flow. Installation of such
systems clearly requires considerably higher
initial investment but poultry producers moving
towards environmental control should also keep
an eye on reliability of electricity supply and
certainly build cost of a standby generator into
their calculations. n
Dr Terry Mabbett

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15

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Vaccinating broilers with the
watering system
The watering system has evolved into a great tool for vaccinating large numbers of birds at
once. With careful planning and preparation, this delivery method can ensure birds receive
the vaccine in a timely and effective manner fashion.
HE WATERING SYSTEM has become
the preferred method for administering
live vaccines to broiler flocks because
of the amount of labor it saves. A producer
can vaccinate thousands of birds at one
time. However, producers need to ensure
that they perform the vaccination process
correctly. Mistakes in administering the
vaccine can destroy the vaccine virus and
result wasted time and money.

T

Clean and biofilm free
Besides having clean water, ensure that the
watering systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior walls and the
drinkers are clean and biofilm free by
administering a hydrogen peroxide based
cleaner and performing a high-pressure
flush. (Always follow the watering system
manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations for effective

Water quality
The quality of water used in the vaccination
process is of vital importance. Water consists
more of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. It also
contains a variety of substances dissolved or
suspended in it. Those added materials could
drastically affect the vaccine. For instance,
chlorine in water from a municipal system
can kill the virus.
To reduce the number of substances in
the water, discontinue using any
disinfectants and additives one to two
days before the vaccination date. Also,
consider adding skim milk powder to the
water to protect the virus from chlorine or
other materials.
The skim milk acts as a protein source
and the vaccine virus attaches to it.
Sometimes, producers will substitute fatty
milk powder because skim milk powder is
more difficult to find. However, fatty milk
powder does not dissolve as well as skim
milk, and it leaves more residue on the walls
of the pipes. (The manufacturer of the
vaccine or a veterinarian can offer advice on
how to use this strategy.)
Ideally, water coming into the poultry
house should meet the same microbiological
standards as potable water for human
consumption. The water should be clear,
odorless and tasteless. To meet this standard,
test the water on a regular basis (at least
annually) to determine its makeup.
Water quality, however, can change over
time. Producers should pay particular
attention to the source of their water during
times of drought. As the water table lowers,
the quality of water can change.

16

Producers should pay particular
attention to the source of their
water during times of drought

flushing and the hydrogen peroxide
producerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidelines for effective use and
safe handling requirements.)
Refrain from using any disinfectants and
additives for about 24 hours before the
scheduled vaccination intervention. Conduct
the hydrogen peroxide intervention and the
first flush at this time. This will ensure the

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Livestock

Water coming into the poultry house should
meet the same microbiological standards
as potable water for human consumption.
The water should be clear, odorless and tasteless.
To meet this standard, test the water on a regular basis
(at least annually) to determine its makeup.
system is clean by removing biofilm,
chemicals and any impurities in the pipes.
Perform a second hydrogen peroxide
cleaning and high-pressure flush about 24 to
48 hours after the vaccination. This removes
any lingering skim milk or dead vaccine that
can build up on the walls of the pipes.
Remove this material because it is nutrient
rich and encourages pathogens and the
formation of biofilm

Administering the vaccine
The best time to administer vaccine is early
in the morning. The birds are most active
then and water consumption is at its peak.
Turn off the water supply and allow the
birds to drink the line dry. This will take

about an hour. Confirm that lines are dry by
removing a drinker and check for the
absence of water. Then, winch all watering
lines well above the birds’ heads so that they
cannot reach the drinkers.
Withhold all water from the flock for
about 90 minutes. This will make the birds
thirsty and ready to drink. When water
starving a flock, take into account weather
conditions. For instance, in very warm
weather, decrease the amount of time that
water is withheld. The birds should not
become overly thirsty because then they will
fight for the water, spilling medication.
Use the water starvation time to create a
stock solution according to the manufacturer’s
instructions. Producers can inject the stock

New TwinClean Line from Lubing
LUBING HAS INTRODUCED TwinClean drinking system to achieve complete
hygiene, particularly during the processes of rearing and growing birds.
“The drinking water in the TwinClean Line is continuously circulated inside the
drinking line. In addition, a pump is installed in the circulation unit, which pumps the
water with defined pressure to the upper line of the drinking line profile. The water
runs to the end and flows back again in the lower nipple pipe to the pump. A float
switch regulates the pump unit automatically. It ensures that the pump does not run
without water,” a company official said.
As with other Lubing drinking systems, the height of the water column is set at
the pressure regulator. The correct height adjustment is measured at the breather
at the pressure regulator. The flow rate of the pump can be adjusted with the flow
rate controller.
“The adjustment depends of the installed drinking line length and is only made
once with start-up. The balls in the two front breathers indicate the difference of
pressure between upper and lower line. The drinking line principle is laid out in such
a way that the pressure at the end of drinking line is always higher as in front at the
pressure regulator. Therefore drinking line lengths up to 120 m with only one front
connected pressure regulator can be realized.”
Lubing TwinClean Line system

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

solution into the supply lines with a
proportioner or can mix the solution in a
holding tank at the proper stock solution to
water ratio. Maintaining the proper ratio is
very critical for effective and desired results.
Allow the vaccinated water to fill all the
watering lines from end to end. Then, lower
the lines and gently drive birds to the
drinkers. This is especially important for
young chicks. During the birds’ first three
weeks of life, water consumption is erratic.
While it’s difficult, try to ensure each bird
gets at least one dose of the vaccine. Do not
provide any other source of water until the
flock has consumed the vaccine.
With long drinker lines, some producers
worry that birds at the start of the drinking
line receive more vaccine than those at the
far end. Check this by putting a harmless
food-grade dye into the water and watching
how much it stains the birds’ tongues at
different sections of the line. Experts
generally say a vaccination is successful if up
to 90 percent of the birds exhibit the dye on
their tongues. n
Source: Ziggty Systems Inc.

China-Brazil agreement
boosts poultry trade
MORE BRAZILIAN PROCESSING plants are
being certified to export poultry meat to
China, expanding the bilateral trade
relationship between the two countries,
according to a recent report in China Daily.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of
poultry and the increasing demand in China
has resulted in a rise in imports. However,
not all Brazilian slaughterhouses are
allowed to export to China, because some
of them have yet to implement the technical
and hygienic procedures required to obtain
a green light from Chinese regulators.
Therefore, Brazil's current output, most
of which has already been sequestered by
other countries, is unable to satisfy orders
from Chinese dealers, said Adriano Zerbini,
market relations manager of the Brazilian
Poultry Association (UBABEF), the country's
largest poultry industry organization.
Analysts said the poultry business is a
microcosm of trade between China and
Brazil. They are two major emergingmarket economies and could prove crucial
for the ongoing global economic recovery,
especially at a time when Europe is
suffering a sovereign debt crisis and the
US economy remains fragile with
uncertain prospects.

17

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‘One-stop’ source of information on all livestock and poultry vaccines
A NEW ON-LINE database aims to become a
unique free ‘one-stop’ source of information
on all the livestock and poultry vaccines
produced throughout the world.
Vetvac.org is a free to access and easy to
use searchable database which provides
detailed information about livestock and
poultry vaccines.
Currently, the Vetvac database contains
information on nearly 2,000 livestock vaccine
products produced by more than 95
manufacturers. This included cattle, sheep,
goat, pig and poultry vaccines available in the
Australia, UK, Africa, India, South America
and the United States. It is being expanded
and updated on a continuous basis, and aims
to cover all markets, providing the most
complete compendium of licensed livestock
vaccine products available worldwide.
The database developers, Inocul8 and the
Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary
Medicines (GALVmed), both of whom are
based in Edinburgh, envisage that Vetvac.org
will be especially useful to vaccine
manufacturers and developers, and animal
health professionals and livestock keepers.

Josef Geoola, Vetvac’s co-founder, said,
“Although there are a number of on-line
databases and websites that focus on
livestock vaccines, none provide the global
coverage that Vetvac.org aims to achieve –
our product will be unique.”
Through
Vetvac.org,
vaccine
manufacturers will be able to bring their
products to the attention of potential new
users
and
identify
new
business
opportunities. Developers will be able to
review what vaccines already exist before
committing resources to developing new
products. Vetvac.org will also makes
independently verified information available
to vaccine users.
Vetvac’s developers are keen to engage
with all vaccine manufacturers, large and
small, so that the database can be truly
global and comprehensive in its coverage.
This entails downloading, completing and
submitting a form. From the manufacturers’
side, this entails making all their vaccine
datasheets available, ideally in electronic
formats, and ensuring that all new products
are added to the database.

Meriden launches new product for use in
Aquaculture Hatcheries
MERIDEN ANIMAL HEALTH is launching a new product for the early days
of larval rearing which mirrors an optimal wild larval diet.
Phyconomix is a ready to use range of products, available in a liquid and
powder form, designed to fulfill the nutritional requirements of growing
shrimp and fish larvae.
“The importance of optimal nutrition during the early periods of life is
paramount in any living species. In aquaculture as with other animals, the
young are vulnerable and adequate nutritional provision for fry and post
larvae reduces risk of mortality and poor development,” a company official
said. “Shrimp and fish larval nutrition is generally poorly understood.
Specific nutrients involved in optimal growth, survival and immunity can be
missing in standard dietary regimes or at best, present at levels capable of
negatively impacting on larval quality and quantity. It is generally accepted
that essential fatty acids, phospholipids, vitamins, trace elements and
carotenoids figure prominently in this scenario, and delivery methods for
such nutrients must also be
optimal to ensure maximum
delivery to target organs.”
Both shrimp or fish
larvae have a requirement
for optimum nutrition and
it has been shown that
Phyconomix can meet
these requirements,
without the need, cost,
labour or disease risk of
having to produce algae
within the hatchery,
according to the company.

18

Many
of
the
largest
vaccine
manufacturers are already working with the
Vetvac.org developers to ensure their vaccine
ranges are included in the database.
Ceva Santé Animale’s Director of Public
Affairs, Pierre-Marie Borne, who is also a
voluntary member of GALVmed’s board said,
“Vetvac.org is a very valuable resource,
addressing a significant gap which current
online tools are missing. By providing a
highly searchable, user-friendly portal for
vaccine information, Vetvac has the potential
to help Ceva reach a greater range of target
users.”
Any vaccine manufacturers who would
like to have their products included in the
database can contact the Vetvac.org team at
admin@vetvac.org and more information
can be found at www.vetvac.org
Vetvac.org is being compiled by Inocul8
and GALVmed with funding provided by the
European Regional Development Fund.
Inocul8 is a company formed by the Moredun
Research Institute, Scotland to facilitate
commercial development of emerging
technologies.

UK pig breeder opens 900-sow
joint venture in China
PIG
FARM
The pig farm is located in the
Xiangyang region of Hubei
HUBEI Liangyou
JSR Breeding
Limited, a new
Chinese
joint
venture between
JSR Genetics
and
stateowned
Hubei
L i a n g y o u
Livestock & Poultry Company, was opened recently.
The pig farm, built on a Greenfield site, located in the Xiangyang
region of Hubei, will house a 900-sow high health JSR nucleus herd,
and marks a major step forward for JSR who have increasingly
targeted China for its exceptional growth potential.
“Establishing a nucleus herd here, with the support of a state owned
company, is a tremendous achievement for JSR,” said Paul
Anderson, The Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited - International
Sales Director. “China is a rapidly expanding market, already home
to half the world’s pigs and the Hubei Province itself is the country’s
third largest pig producing area.”
Built on a 66-hectare greenfield site, the unit provides an ideal
opportunity for incorporating the latest technology and biosecurity.
“We are recommending a nucleus herd based on JSR Genepacker
GGP Gilts – large white and landrace – and JSR Geneconverter
Boars, the 500 and 700. We believe this specification will meet
Chinese regulations for nucleus herds and provide the lean, lower fat,
feed efficient pigs that the Hubei market requires,” Anderson added.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

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Livestock

Phytogenic feed additives
and ammonia emissions
Within the swine industry the largest emissions concern is Ammonia (NH3), which is known for
its negative impacts on the environment as well as animal health. Among several strategies,
feed supplementation with plant-derived substances has shown substantial benefits in
reducing ammonia emissions in pig production systems.
ITH A GROWING world population, the global demand for animal
protein including pork will continue to grow in the future. As a
consequence of increasing demand, animal production will face
several challenges. In order to provide safe, high-quality food supply for a
growing population, there is an urgent need for increasing agricultural
production and for improving production efficiency. Intensification of animal
husbandry, however, may cause more gas and odor emissions originating
from animal production facilities.
Several gases occurring in swine farms are known for their negative
effect not only on animals, but also on the wellbeing of workers. Ammonia
(NH3) is one of these harmful gases. It is a colorless gas with pungent
odor, derived from the degradation of nitrogenous feed ingredients. Among
others, its negative effects on animals include increased susceptibility to
respiratory diseases and reduced performance. Furthermore, it may
contribute to soil acidification, and odor release, if applied to the soil in
excessive levels. There are many proposed actions and strategies to reduce
livestock-related ammonia emissions, such as ventilation, nutrition and
manure treatment. Nutritional strategies include diet formulation as close
as possible to the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actual requirement based on digestible amino
acids. Another option that has recently gained increasing importance is
the inclusion of phytogenic feed additives in the swine diet.

W

Phytogenic feed additives
By definition, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Phytogenicsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are plant-derived materials with the potential
to improve feed intake and/or growth performance of animals. Due to
their unique structure and composition (mainly natural essential oils),
phytogenic feed additives were reported to exert positive effects on
animal performance and health.
Interestingly, feeding phytogenic feed additives to livestock was also
found to decrease ammonia emissions, which contributed to the improved
performance of the animal by allowing it to better utilize the amino acids
in the diet.
In a recent trial, a matrix-encapsulated phytogenic feed additive based
on a blend of essential oils was tested for its effects on growth performance
and ammonia and odor emissions of growing-finishing pigs. In this
formulation, essential oils (of oregano, thyme, anise and citrus) are
encapsulated in a specific matrix, designed to provide enhanced bio
availability, stability and improved handling and processing properties.
The control group was fed a basal diet and the experimental group was
fed the same diet with addition of the phytogenic feed additive in a
concentration of 150 or 100 g/ton in the grower and finisher diet,
respectively. The two groups were both kept in identical, isolated barns,
equipped with sensors for measuring ammonia and other gases in the

Phytogenic feed additives
can represent a powerful
and applicable solution

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

19

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Livestock

Figure 1. Effect of a phytogenic feed additive on ammonia
concentrations in the barn air

barn air. Ventilation rates were identical in both
barns, as well.
The results revealed that pigs fed the
phytogenic feed additive had higher weight gain
and 4.3 per cent better feed conversion ratio,
confirming the results of previous trials and field
reports. In addition, ammonia emissions were on
average 24.4 per cent lower in comparison to
the control group, indicating the potential of
phytogenic substances to contribute to a
significant reduction in ammonia emissions. The
ammonia concentrations recorded in the barn air
are shown in Figure 1.
Furthermore, less CO2 and odors were
emitted by pigs fed the phytogenic feed additive.

Figure 2. Effect of a phytogenic feed additive on odor emissions
on four sampling days

Odor emissions, measured by olfactometry
analysis of air sample taken on four days, were
reduced by 29.4 per cent (Figure 2).
In the light of these results, it is apparent that
one possible solution lies in the feed, where the
phytogenic substances were capable of reducing
the levels of fermentation products and
increasing protein digestibility. Feed
supplementation with matrix-encapsulated
phytogenic substances is therefore regarded as
an option not only to improve growth
performance, but also to alleviate emissions from
pig production systems.
Aerial ammonia emissions in pig
production units can have a negative impact

on animals, workers and the environment.
There is big potential in reducing ammonia
emissions by including plant-derived, i.e.
phytogenic substances in pig diets. In this
article it was shown how a single feed
additive substantially reduced ammonia (-24
per cent) and odor emissions (-29 per cent) in
a controlled experiment. Therefore we can
conclude there are powerful natural solutions
available to agriculture that can substantially
contribute to reducing the environmental
impact of animal production. n
By Ahmed Aufy, Eduard Zentner and Tobias
Steiner, Biomin

New WEDA demand feeding station for group management
WEDA HAS DEVELOPED Sow-Comp, the
new demand feeding station with improved
visualisation to which up to 25 devices can be
connected. With the new system, the entire
agricultural animal management will be
created in a more flexible way.
Each animal is identified at the control
computer by means of an ear tag
transponder, which adjusts the feed
requirements to the individual animal data.
The feed amount is regulated depending on
class and gestation and is automatically
adapted according to the weight of the sow.
Accordingly, the feed amount assigned to the
sow is dosificated at the trough. Once the
animal has exhausted its contingent, the
system switches off the components in order
to protect the technology and to save energy.
The WEDA demand feeding station is not
only employed as a feeding computer but also
as an animal house management system. By
means of the Sow-Comp, the unit operator
has a comprehensive instrument with
intelligent control technology at his side,
which adapts itself to individual requirements
and changed unit sizes. The system is
disturbance resistant, easy to operate, and it

20

is especially well suited for the management
of larger groups.
The visual presentation of the unit has
been considerably improved, presenting the

Sow-Comp demand
feeding station

user the status of the demand feeding
stations, of the feed preparation and of animal
movements. The status lights are attached to
the demand feeding station in such a way that
they can be easily recognized from any
position inside the house.
It is a novelty that now up to 25 demand
feeding stations and devices can be connected
to a system. Each station can now by request
be called up and operated from the computer
(if required also manually) in order to obtain
detailed information and to carry out settings.
The feeding computer of the Sow-Comp is
ISO-AgriNet-capable and compatible with
customary feeding, separating, and heat
systems. It is easily connected with the WEDA
Exzellent 4PX computer, which controls and
monitors the processes in the feed
preparation. In order to prevent surpluses, the
computer requests the exact feed amounts at
the feeding computer. Each station is able to
feed out customary kinds of feed in liquid or
dry form or additives. Three kinds of colour
can be integrated for marking. The colour
dosificators regularly report the filling levels to
the control system which in turn signalizes for
how many animals the colour still suffices.

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Crops

‘Secret’ life of avocado
anthracnose
Anthracnose of avocados is a latent disease and the symptoms only develop after picking,
while infection would have taken place several months earlier in the orchards. Dr Terry Mabbett
presents the lifecycle of the causal organism.
VOCADO—WHICH ORIGINATED in
Central America, particularly in highelevation areas of Mexico and
Guatemala—is now being produced
commercially throughout the tropics and
subtropics with Asian and Pacific Rim
countries including India, Philippines, Vietnam,
Malaysia and Australia and New Zealand
becoming increasingly important producers.
Wherever grown, avocado is plagued by fungal
pathogens infecting the leaves and fruit and
one in particular called anthracnose caused by
the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.
Avocado trees invariably grow in conditions
conducive to the rapid spread and

A

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

development of fungal diseases including
anthracnose, while at the same time being
subject to intense weathering pressure on
fungicide deposits applied for season long
protection. The dense tree canopies displayed
by some avocado varieties aggravate disease
development by prolonging high humidity
levels, making the disease control more
difficult to achieve.
Thick waxy deposits which cover the
surface of avocado leaves and fruit mean only
those fungicides showing good particle-plant
surface adhesion and high tenacity in the face
of heavy rainfall stand any chance of control.
Particulate fixed copper fungicides, which are

protectant in action, provide the best all-round
option for the control of avocado anthracnose
and other common diseases. Cuprous oxide is
generally accepted as most efficacious of the
fixed copper fungicides on a ‘gram for gram’
comparative basis.
Anthracnose disease of avocado has an
extra dimension which makes control even
more difficult to achieve. Infection (of the fruit)
can take place at any time after fruit set, but
major disease developments and damage do
not show up until after-picking, during postharvest storage, transit and marketing. This is
due to the development of latent infections
established weeks or months while the fruit

21

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Crops

was still on the tree. As such, anthracnose of
avocado has a ‘secret life’ lasting from fruit
infection in the orchard until post-harvesting
stage. The only way to block the ‘secret life’ of
avocado anthracnose is to spray the trees with
cuprous oxide by targeting the fruit and timing
applications to cover the entire period of fruit
susceptibility.

Anthracnose of avocado
Anthracnose is the most widespread and
serious disease affecting the leaves, flowers
and fruit of avocado in the wet and humid
tropics. Ability of the pathogen to infect a
range of other fruit tree crops including mango
just adds to the problem. Spores of the
anthracnose fungus are spread in water and
most avocado cultivars are susceptible.
Infection of avocado fruit by the
anthracnose pathogen can occur at any time
after fruit set with spores spread by rainfall,
surface moisture as dew (condensation) and
by over-head irrigation. The majority of spores
originate from dead leaves trapped in canopy
and infected fruit which have not fallen from
the tree. Infection occurs with the spore
germinating on the surface of an avocado fruit
to form a short germ tube with a spherical
structure (appressorium) at the tip. What
happens next depends largely on whether the
fruit skin is intact or damaged in some way.
Pre-harvest anthracnose occurs mainly on

Healthy crop of avocados

22

Physical damage can induce anthracnose
and other rots in harvested fruit

fruit that has suffered mechanical or insect
damage. Large diseased areas subsequently
spread quickly across the fruit which will
usually fall prematurely. The other form of preharvest anthracnose takes the form of small,
dark and disfiguring spots which sometimes
occur around the lenticels (natural openings) in
the fruit skin.
On undamaged avocados, infections usually
remain latent (completely quiescent) until the
full mature fruit is harvested and starts to
ripen. During the ripening period, a narrow
infection peg emerges from under the
appressorium to penetrate the skin, thus
allowing the fungal pathogen to grow rapidly
across and inside the fruit. Continued growth
of the fungal pathogen inside the fruit kills the
flesh cells leading to large black necrotic areas
called anthracnose.
Reason for this period of latent infection is
the presence of an antifungal chemical
compound in the skin (peel) of immature and
unripe avocadoes. As the avocado starts to
ripen, this anti-fungal compound declines
allowing the fungal pathogen to develop and
the disease to spread. Fungicide application to
trees in the orchard to prevent infection of
leaves, blossoms and subsequently the young
fruit is the only way to ensure that harvested
fruit go into the post-harvest period free of
latent anthracnose infections.
Influence of anthracnose clearly extends
from the orchard and into the post-harvest
period on fruit that were visibly free of disease
at picking, the fruit deteriorating quickly as

latent infections become active during the final
climacteric phase of post-harvest ripening.
Extensive brown patches cover the fruit
surface and coalesce causing the pulp
beneath to turn black. The rot moves on
rapidly entering the seed with the skin
becoming covered in fungal fruiting bodies
with salmon pink-coloured spores during the
final stage of infection. Disease development
is affected by ambient temperature and
humidity in storage but mostly by stage of fruit
maturity, moving more quickly in older fruit.
Diseased fruits are a total loss.

Cuprous oxide fungicide
Copper fungicides offer avocado growers the
best option for control of anthracnose while at
the same time dealing with a host of other
diseases including avocado scab (Sphaceloma
perseae), black spot/cercospora fruit rot
(Pseudocercospora purpurea) and stem end
rots (Botryosphaeria sp, Phomopsis sp and
Botryodiplodia sp) at the same time. The
virtual insolubility of fixed copper compounds
such as copper oxychloride, cupric hydroxide
and cuprous oxide means they are naturally
tenacious in the face of intense tropical
weathering. Cuprous oxide is generally
accepted as the most efficacious of these
fixed copper compounds when on a gram for
gram basis.

Particle size and size distribution
Particle size distribution is the secret to
success of protectant fungicides such as

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Crops

cuprous oxide. The smaller the particles and
the narrower their distribution the more
effective is the product as a protectant
fungicide. This is related to a whole series of
sequential factors in the entire spray
application process from rapid and uniform
mixing in the spray tank, superior particle
adhesion to plant surfaces and optimum
copper ion (Cu2+) profiles, for long term
protection and effective disease control, by
securing the right balances between solubility,
tenacity and redistribution of deposits.
Nordox 75WG, a water dispersible granule
formulation of cuprous oxide with 75 per cent
active copper and manufactured by Nordox of
Norway, provides the perfect illustration. All
particles are within a size range of 1 to 5
micron (µm), 80 per cent less than 2µm and
99 per cent less than 5µm. Decreasing particle
size underpins the performance of protectant
fungicides from the time the bag is opened
until copper ions are released from the deposit
and enter the fungal cell. Free flowing and
non-dusty Nordox 75WG is easy and safe to
mix in water. The formulation disperses rapidly
and efficiently forming a uniform suspension in
water that passes freely through the nozzle
orifice without any blockage.

Tenacity and redistribution
The increased surface area to volume ratio of
the smaller particles generates stronger surface
forces. These in turn enhance particle to
surface adhesion and maximise capacity of the
deposit to stick to the plant surface (higher
tenacity), especially in the face of high
intensity weathering. High surface area of
small particles optimises the solubility profile of
the sparingly soluble cuprous oxide.
Plant exudates and rainfall containing
dissolved carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
combine to generate weak acids in surface
films of water and a pH value of 5.5 to 6.5.
Weak acid solutions dissolve small amounts of
active Cu2+ from the cuprous oxide particles.
These soluble and positively charged copper
ions are absorbed by fungal spores during
germination and kill the fungus before it can
penetrate the plant surface.
With more particles (on a gram to gram
basis) than other copper fungicide products,
sprays of Nordox 75WG spread a higher
density of high adhesion particles over the
plant surface. Spores are more likely to land
directly on a particle or very close to one
because inter-particle distances are reduced to
a minimum.
High deposit tenacity and weathering
resistance shown by Nordox 75WG ensures
residues remain at fungicidally active levels
between spray applications even during the
wet season. Deposits are gradually eroded by

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

Severe case of avocado scab

weathering with gradual redistribution of
fungicide over the surface of the same leaf or
fruit and onto plant surfaces lower in the
canopy, via rain splashes, drips and rivulets.
The superior release and redistribution profiles
of Cu2+ from Nordox 75WG is vital for
protection of new foliage and fruit produced
during spray intervals.

Avocado disease control
Weekly sprays at 1,000 l/ha, started when fruit
became susceptible to anthracnose, showed
Nordox 75WG to perform as well as
traditionally used copper fungicides at
approximately half the dosage rate on the
‘Hass’ variety of avocado in Mexico. Dosage
rates for Nordox 75WG of 2.0 kg /ha gave 98
per cent and 100 per cent control of,
respectively, anthracnose and scab up to 14
days after the final application. Further
reductions in dosage to 1.5 kg/ha and 1.0
kg/ha gave slightly less control but the

difference was not statistically significant.
South African scientists compared Nordox
Super 75 (wettable powder formulation of
cuprous oxide) with a proprietary copper
oxychloride product for control of black spot of
‘Fuerte’ avocado. Using a three-spray
programme with a high pressure sprayer (25
bar) at 50-60 litres per tree they achieved
equivalent control of black spot using Nordox
Super 75 at 100g/litre, which represents one
third of the copper dosage normally required.
Trials in New Zealand to control ripe rots
(anthracnose and stem end rot) in ‘Hass’
avocado showed the value of Oleo Nordox 40
(an oil-based liquid product containing cuprous
oxide) in a nine-spray programme starting at
the pre-blossom period and lasting right up to
harvest. By using a ‘Hydramist’ sprayer, to
produce very small droplets, Oleo Nordox 40
matched control achieved by a traditionally
used cupric hydroxide fungicide and with
reduced rates of active copper. n

23

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Crops

The rise of the
lowly malunggay

Such recognition is given to malunggay that its
production, processing and marketing is already
being pushed as a law in the Senate

What was once considered
as a poor manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vegetable is
now being groomed as a high
value crop in the Philippines.
ORINGA OLIFEIRA, COMMONLY
known as horseradish and locally
malunggay, is now among the
priorities of the national government in its
research and development programs
because of its innumerable health benefits.
Such recognition is given to the plant that
its production, processing and marketing is
already being pushed as a law in the Senate.
According to Senator Loren Legarda, who
sponsored the legislation, the bill seeks to
maximize the yield and the use of malunggay
for agricultural, industrial, commercial and
medicinal purposes. So huge are its
potentials that Senator Legarda has appealed
the Philippine Senate to approve the
mandate with urgency to fully utilize
malunggayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonders at once.
While the Department of Agriculture (DA)
is spearheading the promulgation of
malunggay planting nationwide, the
Department of Education has already joined
the campaign through its Department Order

M

24

234, instructing all public schools are now
required to plant malunggay trees to make
school children become aware of its
nutritional and medicinal value to prevent
malnutrition and other diseases.
Even Filipino famed boxer Manny
Pacquiao reveals malunggay as one of his
secrets as he believes that having
horseradish in his regular meals does
wonders to his awesome pugilist abilities.
Indeed, malunggay has come a long way
from being an ordinary green edible to
becoming the next big thing in Philippine
agriculture.

Health benefits
Though the popularity of horseradish is
rapidly gaining in the local front, the plant
has already been actively promoted by the
World Health Organization in the past twenty
years as a low-cost health supplement in
poor countries. In fact, other nations such as
Nicaragua and India are making significant
headways in their cultivation of malunggay
and these countries have been the models in
utilizing horseradish with much success.
Nevertheless, authorities are confident
that the Philippines can become the global
hub for planting and processing horseradish
as the plant can grow anywhere and can
stand any types of weather. It can be simply

grown in a backyard as its tree can be
propagated by using stem cuttings. Even
urban places can cultivate the vegetable tree
as it grows in an empty can or a plastic
container combined with adequate sunlight
and water.
How healthy can malunggay be?
According to the DA Biotechnology Program
Office (DA-BPO), scientists and nutritionists
all over the world are one in saying that
malunggay is definitely among the best leafy
edibles as it contains four times more
calcium than milk thereby recommended to
breastfeeding mothers; three times more
potassium than bananas; four times the
vitamin A in carrots and an ounce has the
same Vitamin C content as seven oranges.
Moreover, the DA-BPO tells that including
malunggay in a regular diet helps strengthen
the immune system; helps restore skin
condition, regulates blood pressure, relieves
headaches and migraines; heal joint
inflammation; prevent intestinal worms; help
increase semen count; normalize blood sugar
levels and contains phytochemicals that help
prevent cancer.
Not only the leaves contain the rich
nutrients but also the leaf stalks. In a study
entitled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mineral Macronutrients,
Micronutrients and Other Elements in Leaves
of Malunggay Plant Sampled in Some

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Crops

Locations in the Philippines ” conducted by
scientists Severino S. Magat, Ma. Cecilia M.
Raquepo, and Carmencita D. Pabustan, the
leaf stalks—which are usually thrown
away—also contain valuable macro and
micro nutrients. In terms of macronutrients,
the study states potassium (K) is highest in
malunggay stalks. In fact, for every 10kg of
dried malunggay stalks, there are 293 g of
potassium. Other macronutrients present are
calcium (191g/10kg), nitrogen (185g/10kg),
chloride (65g/10kg), sulphur (45 g/10kg),
magnesium (23g/10kg), phosporus (19
g/10kg), and sodium (7g/10kg).
Meanwhile, for its micronutrient contents,
the stalk was found to be rich in iron, boron,
zinc, manganese, and copper. The scientists
reveal that for every 10kg of dried
malunggay stalks, there are 436 mg of iron,
170 mg of boron, 112 mg of zinc, 100 mg
of manganese, and 37 mg of copper. The
accuracy of these findings are assured as the
group separately analyzed the nutrient
contents of leaf blades and leaf stalks for the
purpose of optimizing its nutritional and
medicinal uses and also to understand the
other elements present which, according to
scientists, can be beneficial or toxic at high
concentrations.
These health benefits not only make
malunggay as an ideal crop but one of the
effective tools in combating hunger, poverty
and chronic malnutrition.

Myriad of uses
Whereas its leaves are usually cooked for
local viands, the malunggay’s uses now
spans from cosmetics to feed stock.
According to Biotech For Life, a non-profit
organization which advocates the use of
malunggay, mature seeds of malunggay can
produce high-value oil called moringa oil that
can be used in various food and product
manufacturing. For industrial uses, it is ideal
as a lubricant for fine machineries due to its
little tendency to deteriorate as well as a
good anti-oxidant which make ideal for
cosmetics and perfume. As a predominantly
oleic acid, the group said moringa oil can
lower blood levels of cholesterol, improve
lipid profiles eases inflammation.
The malunggay presscake, after seed oil
extraction, is also effective as a water purifier
as it acts as a coagulant that dissolves the
unwanted elements in the water such as
bacteria in the bottom of the container. This
technology has been successful in Nicaragua
and Biotech affirms that this has been the
subject of extensive studies as an estimated
1.3 billion people worldwide use
contaminated water for drinking and cooking.
The presscake is also used as animal feed

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

Mature seeds of malunggay can produce highvalue oil called moringa oil that can be used in
various food and product manufacturing

and fertilizer because of its high-protein
content. Former trade secretary Nelly Favis
Villafuerte also affirms malunggay’s uses with
the leaves, flowers, seeds, pods, roots, bark,
gum and the seed oil are continually being
subjected to intensive research and
development programs because the various
constituents of the moringa are known to
have, among other properties, anti-diabetic,
anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-tumor
and anti-aging activities.
Moreover, malunggay has been a very
profitable livelihood source of the
impoverished. Through massive campaigns
headed by DA-BOP Director Alicia Ilaga, poor
communities are now processing malunggay
into noodles, cookies, pretzels pan de sal
(salt bread) and beauty products such as
soaps, lotions and many others. Apart from

processing, they can also sell leaves at PHP5
to PHP10 per bunch of malunggay leaves
and with the help of Secura International
which offers contract growing schemes to
farmers nationwide, Ilaga tells that an
hectare of malunggay can earn a net of
PHP150,000 per year. Ilaga says malunggay
has truly changed the lives of the destitute as
it not only helped them fight malnutrition but
also gave them good source of revenue.
Given the correct strategy of promotion
and wider dissemination, Ilaga believes that
it won’t be long that malunggay will become
a big thing in the world market which is now
leaning for natural ingredients wherein the
Philippines can become a major global
player. n
Gemma Delmo

25

S06 FEAG 6 2011 Crops_Layout 1 19/12/2011 12:05 Page 26

Crops

Arysta LifeScience launches
plant nutrient product portfolio

Aussie biotech innovator partners
with Indian farming giant

ARYSTA LIFESCIENCE HAS launched a unique portfolio of plant nutrient
products in Thailand, making it among the first multi-national
corporations to launch a comprehensive set of such products in the
country. The launch follows two years of research and field trials with
growers of rice and horticultural crops in Thailand.
The new portfolio includes four products from the Arysta LifeScience
acquisition of Grupo Bioquímico Mexicano (GBM) in 2007, namely:
Biozyme, a complex of phytohormone, used to help flowering, fruit
setting and fighting abiotic stess during the critical period in tomatoes
and strawberries; Foltron Plus, a balance of humic acid, folcystein and
various foliar fertilizers, to help boost yields in rice, tomato and
cucumber; and Pilatus and K-Tionic, which help plants, such as rice,
develop strong root systems.
A fifth product, INCA, rounds out the company’s plant nutrient
portfolio. INCA is a proprietary product that was first developed by Plant
Impact and will be marketed in Thailand by Arysta LifeScience under an
exclusive distribution and marketing agreement. INCA is a calcium
delivery system that moves calcium at a cellular level, giving greater
calcium penetration to plants where needed. It reduces the risk of
calcium disorders by helping to control stress and by building healthier
cells. INCA has been shown to increase yields, enhance crop quality
and improve shelf life, especially for root crops such as potatoes and
Chinese radish. Field trials have demonstrated consistent yield
improvement of 10-30 percent on those crops.

POLYGENOMX
LTD
(PGX)
recently announced that it’s
newly
incorporated
sister
company PolyGenomX India has
signed a deal within its first week
of operating.
The deal with one of India’s
largest enterprises, the Indian
Farm Forestry Development
Cooperative (IFFDC), is to trial its Jatropha is a leading candidate to satisfy the growing global demand for
polygenomic Jatropha (Jatropha
clean, renewable aircraft biofuel
curcas pgx) for determining the
best performing lines to provide India with on-going energy sources. Plans for
future trials include polygenomic Paulownia. Jatropha is one of the leading
candidates to satisfy the rapidly growing global demand for clean, renewable
aircraft biofuel, and PGX has developed a fast-growing and high yielding
variety of this plant. Interestingly, polygenomics are the product of a
proprietary but natural process and therefore are not GMOs (Genetically
Modified Organisms), according to the company.
Identified by their unique genetic fingerprint, these “super plants” are
subject to royalty. While the 2012 pilot study will cover just 50ha, the first
stage of the IFFDC project scheduled for 2013 is expected to extend over 1,000
ha requiring more than 1 million plants. To date IFFDC has converted more
than 26,900ha of wastelands into sustainable multipurpose forests.

Record Cotton crop signals declining prices
THE COMBINATION OF a record cotton crop
and falling consumption will expand global
stockpiles by the most since 2005, driving
further declines in the price of this year's worst
performing commodity.
Harvests will increase 7.5 per cent to 123.89
million 480-pound bales (27 million tonne) in
the 12 months ending in July, as demand drops
to a three-year low of 114.27 million bales, the
US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
estimates. Prices may decline 15 per cent to 77
cents a pound on ICE Futures US in New York
by the end of next year, from 90.91 cents now,
based on the median of 12 analyst estimates
compiled by Bloomberg.
“It's a double whammy,” said James Dailey,
Output is rising from
Australia to China to India,
more than compensating
for a US decline

26

who manages US$215 million of assets at
TEAM Financial Management in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. “Cotton is facing the worst-case
nightmare for a commodity, where you have a
glut in physical production combined with
weakening demand.”
Cotton fell 59 per cent since reaching an alltime high of US$2.197 in March as investors
bet that prices would curb demand and
encourage supply. Output is rising from
Australia to China to India, more than
compensating for a US decline caused by the
worst crop conditions since the dust bowl era
of the 1930s.
Economic growth is forecast by the IMF to slow
next year from Europe to China to the Middle
East, potentially curbing the
consumption of commodities.
This year's 37 per cent decline in
prices means cotton fell the most
among 24 commodities in the
Standard & Poor's GSCI gauge,
which advanced 4.1 per cent.
The fiber rose the most in 2010,
adding 92 per cent. The MSCI AllCountry World Index of equities
dropped 9.1 per cent since the
end of December and Treasuries
returned 9.1 per cent, a Bank of
America Corp index shows.

China's harvest, the biggest of any nation, is
expanding for the first time in four years, the
USDA estimates. Output in Australia may rise
as much as 25 per cent to a record as water
supply improves, Adam Kay, chief executive
officer of Cotton Australia, a Mascot, New
South Wales-based producer's group, said in a
recent interview.
Exports from India, the second-biggest
shipper, may climb 14 per cent, said BA Patel,
the country's joint textiles commissioner. The
USDA cut its global demand forecast five times
in the past six months, on expectations that
global growth is slowing.
Consumption contracted more than 11 per
cent in 2009, the most in at least a half century,
during the worst global slump since the Great
Depression. Economists don't expect a repeat
next year, with the IMF predicting global growth
of 4 per cent, unchanged from 2011.
China, the biggest cotton consumer, will
expand 9 per cent, and India, the secondlargest, 7.5 per cent, the Washington-based
group estimates. The price slump since March
may spur purchases by textile makers after
signs of improving consumer demand. US
retail sales jumped to a record US$52.4 billion
during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend
through November 27, according to the
National Retail Federation.

Agra Middle East (AGRAme) as the largest
agribusiness event in the region has effectively
established its presence as the must attend event by
the Middle East's agribusiness industry professionals.
Growing at an average of 50% in exhibit space every
year, AGRAme is now recognized by leading players in
the agribusiness industry from all over the world. The
2011 edition of the event will be held from 01 - 03
April at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. For
more details, visit www.agramiddleeast.com

New in ovo machine set to revolutionize hatchery practice
THE BENEFITS OF in ovo vaccination
are now within the reach of many more
hatcheries worldwide, thanks to the
development of a new compact device.
Embrex Inovoject m is a semiautomated in ovo vaccination system
from Pfizer Animal Health Global Poultry
designed for those hatcheries that do not
have a large enough footprint or
throughput to justify the installation of a
full-size Embrex Inovoject.
Full technical details for the new
Inovoject m will be unveiled at the
International Poultry Expo in Atlanta,
Georgia in January 2012. According to
Melinda Freson, senior manager,
BioDevice Marketing, Pfizer Animal
Health Global Poultry, the new device
will include the same core features of the
larger Inovoject in a more condensed
package.
“There has been a need for a smaller
Inovoject for some time,” said Melinda
Freson. “For smaller hatcheries, or those
in developing countries which have
traditionally relied on manual labor to

vaccinate each bird individually after
hatch, the availability of a semiautomated in ovo vaccination
system that is the right size for their
hatchery,
will
be
a
real
breakthrough.”
A more modest device in a
compact size means that more
hatcheries will be able to switch
from
manual
subcutaneous
vaccination and thus improve flock
health by protecting birds prior to
hatch.
“The Inovoject m has a number of
operational advantages for the
producer who currently vaccinates
chicks on day of hatch,” said Freson.
“Not least is the fact that chicks can
be transferred out of the hatchery
and into the grow-out environment
sooner.”
As with all Embrex Inovoject
devices, Inovoject m will be
supported by the Pfizer Global
Poultry technical service and
support team.

Embrex Inovoject m is a semi-automated
in ovo vaccination system

Automated system for simultaneous transfer of multiple setter trays
PAS REFORM HAS launched SmartTransfer, an ergonomically
designed, fully automated setter trolley loader that enables a single
operator to safely transfer all 32 trays from a farm trolley to the setter
trolley simultaneously, in less than two minutes.
The new system is said to be the first application to take advantage of
recently acquired subsidiary LAN’s expertise in custom-made
handling systems.
“Unlike other systems, the SmartTransfer setter trolley loader saves

SmartTransfer setter trolley loader

32

time and manpower with a simple, ingenious push mechanism that
transfers every tray in a trolley simultaneously. A smooth, gliding action
protects fertile hatching eggs from any sudden movements or shocks,
to prevent hairline cracks or other damage to the eggs,” a company
official said.
“Easy to operate, SmartTransfer is designed for operator comfort during
this normally highly repetitive task. A filled farm trolley is pushed into the
SmartTransfer trolley loader and locked into position. With the door
closed, the operator sets SmartTransfer’s
electronically operated pusher into action,
transferring all the trayed eggs onto a tray
collector simultaneously. The operator then
opens the door and replaces the farm trolley
with a setter trolley. Tray collector guides adjust
automatically to the correct pitch for the setter
trolley – and all the filled trays are pushed into
the setter trolley at the same time. The whole
process is completed in under two minutes.”
With a footprint of just 1860 x 2775mm,
SmartTransfer is constructed from easy-toclean stainless steel and requires minimal
maintenance.
In another major development, Pas Reform’s
innovative SmartPro single-stage incubation
system has been recognised by the coveted
Dutch ‘GIO’ Awards this year, in a showcase
of outstanding industrial design as part of
The Netherlands’ annual Design Week,
hosted in Eindhoven.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

S08 FEAG 6 2011 Equipment_Layout 1 20/12/2011 11:34 Page 33

Equipment

Cat unveils new full tail swing track feller bunchers
CATERPILLAR FOREST PRODUCTS is
introducing the new Series II track feller
buncher
with
smoother
hydraulic
performance, better fuel economy, a more
comfortable operator station and better
visibility. Both the Cat 541 II and the Cat
552 II are full tail swing machines designed
for high production clear cut and for clear
or select cut in rough terrain. The 552 II is
a leveling machine for more comfort on
steep terrain.
The Series II features new compensator
valve spools in both the implement and travel
valve sections. The new valve compensators
improve hydraulic stability and flow for
enhanced multi-functioning. “The operator
can maintain a productive rhythm when
activating several functions simultaneously
because there is minimal slowing or
interruption in one function when another is
activated,” said Keith Hicks, Caterpillar Forest
Products product performance engineer. “And
with a more efficient hydraulic circuit, less
hydraulic horsepower is required, so fuel
consumption is also reduced.”
In addition, the Cat track feller buncher

Caterpillar’s new Series II
track feller buncher

hydraulics can be configured for either high or
low flow attachments. This gives owners the
flexibility to run any attachment and still
maintain fast, smooth multi-functioning
capability. “For example, when the Cat track
feller bunchers are configured for low flow
attachments, more hydraulic oil flow is freed
up for other machine functions. This is an
advantage over other feller bunchers that offer
only high flow and cannot be modified to
maximize performance for both machine and
work tool,” Hicks said.
The monitor in the cab has been
downsized slightly to improve the operator’s

line of sight out the right front corner of the
cab. “The operator has a clear view of the
work tool and area to the right side of the cab
for lining up a cut or repositioning the machine
and linkage,” Hicks said.
The operator’s station features ergonomic
joysticks, a comfortable, adjustable air ride
seat, fresh air side window with screen and
HVAC system with updated air ducts for better
cooling and heating. All electrical harnesses
are bulkheaded before they enter the cab,
instead of lines fed in through holes in the
floor. This keeps the cab sealed, so it is
quieter and dust free.

Advanced draper head for New
Holland combines

Pöttinger mulch seed drills:
now with direct fertilisation

NEW HOLLAND HAS introduced a new SuperFlex draper head
specifically designed to match the high capacity of New Holland CR
Series Twin Rotor and CX8000 Series Super-Conventional combines.
“Header designs play an important role in reducing harvesting
losses," says New
Holland Cash Crop
Marketing Manager
Ed Barry. “The new
880CF
SuperFlex
draper head provides
closer cutting and
better flotation so
farmers can harvest
every bit of their
valuable crop.”
The
880CF New Holland CR Series Twin Rotor and
SuperFlex cutterbar CX8000 Series Super-Conventional combines
draper headers are
available in cutting widths of 30′, 35′, 40′ and 45′. The 30′, and 35′
heads feature a single-span, plastic-tine pickup reel while 40′ and 45′
models use a dual-span reel with plastic tines.
“A patented, rubber spring flotation system allows the 880CF head
to follow ground contours more closely. The rubber torsion springs on
each floor support can be adjusted manually to tailor flotation to
conditions or to compensate for any cutterbar unevenness.The six-bat
reel smoothly feeds crop to the cutterbar, which cuts cleanly using
three-inch guards and overserrated knife sections with 10 teeth per
inch. Reel sensors provide for easy return-to-cut after each pass.”

PÖTTINGER, ONE OF the leading agriculture equipment and machinery
manufacturers, has added new direct fertilisation technology to its
TERRASEM series of mulch seed drills.
Using direct fertilisation technology enables micro and macro nutrients to
be placed at the same time as the seed grain. Optimum growth conditions
are created during the early phase of seed growth as a result, increasing the
potential performance of the crop.
Fertilizer can be applied on the TERRASEM using two different methods:
through a row of Dual-Disc Exakt coulters, or via a broadcast system using
spreader plates. The Dual-Disc Exakt coulter method involves placing
fertilizer between each double seed row using the coulters mounted behind
the compact harrow unit integrated into the TERRASEM seed drill. The
fertiliser placement depth can be adjusted independently of cultivating and
sowing depths. The surface is then consolidated across the whole working
width before the seed is drilled. The Dual-Disc Exakt coulter thus places a
deposit of fertiliser in a perfect position to nourish the roots of the seed. Not
only does this save fertiliser and minimise unproductive losses, it also
promotes faster development of the root mass and contributes long-term to
optimum yield.
The broadcast method involves distributing fertiliser across the full working
width of the compact harrow so that it is thoroughly mixed in to the soil.
The fertiliser is applied virtually loss-free without overlaps or gaps. As a
result the roots of the seed find nutrients at all levels.
An additional advantage of direct fertilisation is that in difficult ground
conditions only one pass is necessary, providing maximum protection of the
soil. Plus, there is the advantage of being able to complete the full drilling
and fertilising process quickly and effectively in a single pass as soon as an
opportunity presents itself.

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

33

S08 FEAG 6 2011 Equipment_Layout 1 20/12/2011 11:34 Page 34

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Moreover
Intensive production holds key to feeding
growing cities, but improvements in natural
resource use and environmental performance
are crucial

Major gains in efficiency of
livestock systems needed
Y 2050 AN expanded world
population will be consuming two
thirds more animal protein than it
does today, bringing new strains to bear on
the planet's natural resources, according to a
new FAO report.
Populations and income growth are fueling
an ongoing trend towards greater per capita
consumption of animal protein in developing
countries, says the report, World Livestock
2011. Meat consumption is projected to rise
nearly 73 per cent by 2050; dairy
consumption will grow 58 per cent over
current levels.
Much of the future demand for livestock
production — in particular in the world's
burgeoning cities, where most population
growth is occurring — will be met by largescale, intensive animal-rearing operations.
“As it stands, there are no technically or
economically viable alternatives to intensive
production for providing the bulk of the
livestock food supply for growing cities,” FAO's
report says.
But such systems are a source of concern
due to environmental impacts such as
groundwater pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions, as well as their potential to act as
incubators of diseases, warns the report,
cautioning: "an urgent challenge is to make
intensive production more environmentally
benign."

B

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Six 2011

Based on existing knowledge and
technology, there are three ways to do this,
according to FAO: reduce the level of pollution
generated from waste and greenhouse gases;
reduce the input of water and grain needed for
each output of livestock protein; and recycle
agro-industrial by-products through livestock
populations. The surge in livestock production
that took place over the last 40 years resulted
largely from an increase in the overall number
of animals being raised. But "it is hard to
envisage meeting projected demand by
keeping twice as many poultry, 80 per cent
more small ruminants, 50 per cent more cattle
and 40 per cent more pigs, using the same
level of natural resources as currently," says
World Livestock 2011.
Rather, increases in production will need to
come from improvements in the efficiency of
livestock systems in converting natural
resources into food and reducing waste.
This will require capital investment and a
supporting policy and regulatory environment.

Animal health is key
A number of additional challenges must be
confronted as well, including drought, water
shortages and other climate-related impacts —
not to mention the threat of animal diseases,
some which may directly threaten human
health, which will have to be carefully
managed as livestock production is ramped up.

Intensive systems, and those that encroach
upon forest environments or peri-urban areas
without proper hygiene, are a fertile ground for
new diseases — and many of them are
managed in ways that are detrimental to animal
health and welfare, according to the report.

Livestock and food security
Since 1967, global production of poultry meat
increased by around 700 per cent. Other
products saw surges in production as well,
including eggs, which registered a 350 per
cent increase, pig meat (290 per cent), sheep
and goat meat (200 per cent), beef and buffalo
meat (180 per cent) and milk (180 per cent).
Livestock products today supply 12.9 per
cent of calories consumed worldwide — 20.3
per cent in developed countries. Their
contribution to protein consumption is
estimated at 27.9 per cent worldwide and
47.8 per cent in developed countries.
However, global trends have not played out
evenly on the ground. In many places,
production increases haven't occurred and poor
and vulnerable communities have not seen
their consumption of animal protein rise, FAO
warns. Production has expanded rapidly in
East and Southeast Asia and in Latin America
and the Caribbean but growth in sub-Saharan
Africa has been slow. n
Source: FAO

35

S08 FEAG 6 2011 Equipment_Layout 1 20/12/2011 11:34 Page 36

nal !

i
The Orig

Drinking-Systems
With a LUBING Drinking-System you
are always on the safe side.
Completely equipped with innovative
technical details LUBING‘s DrinkingSystems asure a reliable water supply
for cages as well as for ﬂoor management.

Conveyor-Systems
The worldwide leading position of
LUBING Conveyor-Systems is based
on the high level of safety and the
individual adaptability of all sytems.
• Rod Conveyor – for long straight
distances
• Curve Conveyor – for curves and
turns
• Steep Conveyor »Climber« – for
steep climbs up to 60°

Top-Climate-Systems
The LUBING Top-Climate-System is a
highly effective cooling system.
Special
high-pressure
nozzles
(70 bar/1000 psi) spray a ﬁne fog of
evaporated water into the house.
Humidity rises, the temperature falls.
The ﬂoor stays dry. The animals feel
better.